Awakening
by Boyue
Summary: Tonight is their anniversary and a chance to rekindle their love. But when Gaara wakes up in the basement, he discovers things about his marriage that he may not like. -GaaLee/Dark- COMPLETE!


**Naruto and its characters © Masashi Kishimoto**

**Summary: Tonight is their third anniversary. But when Gaara wakes up in the basement, he discovers things he may not like. AU.**

**Rated T for violence, unpleasant things, and a long read.**

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**Awakening**

The plastic cover on the easy chair squeaks.

Teal eyes snap open. Gaara pushes himself up from the chair he has fallen asleep on. A strong--but unrecognizable--stench attacks his nostrils. He puffs through his nose but the stench remains, enveloping around him in its tight embrace. An ache kicks his stomach; it tells him that he is hungry. Excess saliva coats his taste buds. He swallows, temporarily soothing his dry throat. He inhales a shot of air and grunts at the indescribable smell. Maybe a rodent has claimed his basement as its final resting place.

Gaara steps away from the easy chair. Restless eyes record the amount of useless junk occupying the basement. Metal shelves obscure the concrete walls, which are cracked and in need of a new paint job. Dust-colored cardboard boxes stack high on top of each other, resembling an abandoned play fort. A table with a missing leg lies on its side. He drops a glance at the worn mattress on the ground. It was casted out of Gaara's bedroom when Lee moved in. They have meant to throw it out but somehow have left it here. Lee has been nagging about clearing up the basement for a while now; at this moment, Gaara finally agrees. He can possibly set aside a day for an overdue spring cleaning.

He and Lee have been living together for three years. In fact, tonight is their anniversary. Lee prepared a candlelit dinner of well-done steaks and spiced mashed potatoes for them. Gaara wanted his steak raw but Lee lectured him about the danger of consuming raw meats. And seeing as how it is their anniversary, Gaara ate about a quarter of the steak before he told Lee that he was full. Lee was skeptical but did not say a word. The reminder of the meal was in silence; Lee chewing the steak loudly and Gaara sipping glass after glass of red wine.

After the less-than-perfect dinner, Gaara and Lee shared a bath together, something that they do very rarely. Lee filled the tub with mango-scented bubbles that Gaara was adverse to. He hates mangoes. When Gaara showed a displease frown, Lee responded with a cold stare, mumbling that he did not have to take a bath if he did not want to. Gaara resigned and took off his clothes quickly. Maybe he still smells mango on his body. But the stench lacks fruitiness. The silence continued during the bath. They sat on the opposite end; their eyes occasionally met. Lee kept himself entertained by blowing on the bubbles. Gaara was feeling the effect of the wine on his head. He leaned over the tub and watched the puddle of overflowing water. The bathwater was cooling down and Gaara's skin was starting to prune. He was ready to get out when Lee slid closer and lazily stroked his stiff back.

Gaara decided to stay in a little longer. His mind wandered off to his failing marriage. He wanted to trace its origin but his focus was interrupted by Lee. Lee had started placing soft kisses here and there on his skin. It made Gaara shudder with pleasure and uncertainty. The last time they were intimate--prior to tonight--was three months ago. Two and a half week before that, Gaara had been called away on business and when he returned home, they shared a mediocre night. After that incident, Gaara had seriously thought he did not mind if he were never intimate with Lee again.

Tonight, however, he was unexpectedly aroused by Lee's gentle kisses. Gaara stepped out of the tub and rinsed those mango-scented bubbles from his body. He instructed Lee to do the same thing. At first, Lee was not sure what Gaara had wanted. But once Gaara crushed his lips against his, Lee quickly wiped himself dry and followed Gaara into the bedroom. Gaara pinned Lee down, running his fingers through damp black hair. A game of tongue wrestling commenced on the bed. His tongue explored the place that it hadn't visited in weeks. His hands re-familiarized with the sensitive spots on Lee's body. It was as exciting as their first night. As he took Lee, Gaara was certain that their passion has been rekindled, that their marriage could be saved. After they both climaxed, Gaara placed gentle kisses on Lee's skin until he fell asleep with Lee in his arms.

Then why is he here in the basement? Did he sleepwalk again?

Gaara has been waking up at different corners of the house for the past week. He has no memory of moving around, but the mere fact that he is not in bed is enough proof of his sleep disorder. He turns off the dangling lamp and takes his first step on a long wooden stairs up to the house. He does not want Lee to think that he is reluctant to share a bed with him. Though, in all honesty, that is how Gaara was feeling up until tonight. It has been difficult to sleep soundly next to a person that he is not sure if he loved anymore. But Gaara is sure now and he is eager to return to Lee's side.

The steps creak under his weight, becoming a soundtrack to his ascent. Except for the kitchen light shining from above, the staircase is hardly lit. It would not hurt to have more lights down here. Gaara will add that to his list of upcoming house improvement project. Lee will love a home renovation; he has been dreaming of owning a bigger kitchen. He smiles at the thought of making Lee happy--the thought of Lee _being_ happy. It is painfully obvious that Lee is discontent; he is around the house less nowadays, the place where he used to devote all his time and being. Gaara wants to make this house their home again.

Gaara steps through the wide-open basement door and closes it behind him. He turns for the second floor but the ache in his stomach sends him into the kitchen. He wanders deep into the bright kitchen and searches for a late-night snack. He will be in trouble if Lee finds him. Eating past ten p.m. is against Lee's rules. Just like sleeping past nine a.m.

Gaara is lucky enough to find a sandwich in the fridge. He is sure that it is Lee's lunch but Lee can make another sandwich in the morning. He puts it on the counter and looks at the knife block. He never quite understands the idea of different kind of knives for different kind of jobs; they are all blades to him. He reaches for a knife--not caring if it is the right one for bread--and cuts the sandwich in half. Lee will be less upset if Gaara only eats half of his lunch. He wipes the blade clean before he puts it back to its slot. It is then that he notices that a knife is missing from the block. He briefly glances at the sink; it is not there. From the size of the empty slot, it seems to be a chef knife. It does not really bothered Gaara. The kitchen is Lee's domain and he is certain that his lover will be able to locate the missing knife.

Gaara takes a small bite into the sandwich. He chews absent-mindedly as he looks for something to drink. A few seconds after he swallows his first bite, Gaara gags. He rushes to the sink and spits. The sandwich has a strong iron taste to it that repulses Gaara's stomach. He coughs; he should have been more careful. Lee likes to mix health supplement into his food. Gaara finds them disgusting. He pours a glass of tap water to rinse his mouth. After he spits into the sink, Gaara wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. He frowns. The stench in the basement is back, now stronger than before. He looks around the kitchen. Where can be that smell be coming from?

He places the glass in the sink and puts the untouched half sandwich back in the fridge. The half that he ate, he throws it in the trash. The lingering taste suppresses Gaara's appetite. He will have to sleep the hunger away. He reads the time off the microwave's digital clock: 3:21. He has a good two and half hours before Lee gets up for his morning jog. In the early days, Lee would urge Gaara to come along but Gaara would refuse by rolling over in bed. This time, Gaara decides that he will go with Lee. He knows that Lee is not one to hold a grudge and if he suddenly decides to come along, he knows Lee will be more than welcoming. He turns off the kitchen light and heads for their bedroom.

As he is rather familiar with the way to his room, Gaara figures he does not need to turn on the staircase light. He catches a glimpse of their wedding photo on the television stand before moving up the stairs. The soft glow of the moon through the hallway windows is enough to guide his way. A quiet rustling down the hall draws his attention. A window is left open. Gaara strolls over, and closes and locks it. Lee is paranoid about leaving doors and windows unlocked--the traumatic result of his house being robbed when he was seven. Gaara studies the night sky for a moment. The moon is exceptionally round and full tonight; its gray craters visible to the eye. Gaara is captivated by the pale hue; he shudders when a chill shoots down his spine. There will be another night of moon watching. His primary objective of the moment is to get back to Lee.

He steps away from the window and makes his way back to his room. A dark spot on the sand-colored carpet makes Gaara pause in his track. He kneels down to scrutinize the unknown spot. It looks to be wine stain; he must have spilled some from his glass earlier. Lee will have his head when he sees the spot, especially since he had told Gaara not to bring the glass upstairs. Gaara stands up straight and resumes toward his destination, following the trail of burgundy. Lee will definitely have his head in the morning.

The bedroom door is closed. Gaara presses down on the door handle, as slowly and lightly as he can manage. The hinges squeak as he opens the door. His nose scrunches up immediately before he even steps into the room. That unidentifiable stench fills the entire room. Did Lee light some sandalwood incense tonight? Gaara covers his nose with a hand, but the smell only gets more intense. He waves his hand in front of his nose as he edges through the door gap, and closes it quietly behind him. He can make out Lee's figure on the left side of the bed. The comforter covers more of the floor than it does Lee. Gaara figures Lee must be in very deep sleep; he usually remains in one place in his slumber.

Gaara hurries over to the bed, but careful not to walk too heavily. A mischievous idea sparks in his mind. If he lies on top of Lee, will Lee mind? Lee may be startled but Gaara thinks that he will be surprised--in a good way--to find him there. Before putting his plan into action, Gaara picks up the fallen comforter from the floor. He clutches the fabric in his hands and stands still. He brings it up to his face for a closer look. The part he is holding is damp. Something has soaked through the cover and is drying up. In the dark, the spot looks similar to the wine stains in the hallway, only bigger and brighter. Gaara pulls the comforter away, and more stains reveal themselves on the carpet. He does not remember spilling wine in the room. With the comforter moved away, Lee's body becomes more exposed.

Gaara realizes that something is very wrong.

He is not troubled by how Lee's head faces a different direction than his body, or how messy his hair is, or how one leg is dangling off the side of the bed, or that he is naked--because they did make love a few hours ago, or how it does not seem like Lee is breathing.

But why is there a dark pool under Lee's neck? Why is there a deep slit in Lee's throat?

Gaara lets the comforter fall from his grip. He drags his feet--left first, then right, then left again, and right again. It is the only way he can move. His foot kicks something shiny near the head of the bed. He leans down to pick up the missing chef knife, with a fine coat of crimson on the blade. He brings it close enough to smell the steel and the stain. That stench he has been smelling is the Pinot Noir that Temari gave him as a birthday present. The spots on the carpet are wine stains. He has been careless and spilled his wine. It is just wine.

Gaara lifts the knife up to his mouth and traces his tongue over the dark liquid. It is not wine. He lets his tongue hang from his mouth; he is not about to swallow Lee's blood. The knife hits the floor with a soft thud. Gaara holds his hands in front of him. How did blood get on them?

He hesitantly nudges Lee on the shoulder. His hands tremble. He shakes Lee hard, and Lee's body simply shakes along without resistance. Lee feels so cold and stiff under his sweating hand. He stares deep into the slit; the well of blood is crusting. He heaves and stumbles back. Disbelief holds him close, keeping him calm, but it is not enough to stop Gaara from acknowledging that someone has killed Lee in the midst of the night, while he was snoozing off in the basement.

Gaara runs around the bed to get to his nightstand. He picks up the phone receiver and punches the emergency number with frantic fingers. The line connects immediately. The dispatcher asks him to explain the emergency and to remain calm. She has no idea how calm Gaara is for someone who just found his lover murdered. He stutters out the situation and the dispatcher reassures him that an ambulance will arrive soon. The ambulance can instantly appear outside the house, but what difference will it make? He hangs up the phone. His eyes avert from the body on the bed. He staggers into the bathroom and flicks on the light. The intensity of the light blinds him temporarily. He sees the blurred out fixtures of the bathroom, all dripping in crimson. When his eyes adjust to the light, Gaara stares at his reflection in the mirror.

His fingers reach up and crawl down his cheek. How did blood get on his face? Through his reflection, he sees that there is splatter of blood on the black shirt he is wearing. Gaara rubs his bloodied hands on the shirt. He inhales sharply. He yanks the shirt off and hurls it at the floor. The calmness he felt before is leaving him. He turns the faucet all the way and scrubs his hands with soap. He cleans under his fingernails. Dried blood dyes the water scarlet. He splashes water on his face and rubs hard enough to bruise. He looks at his hair, and his eyes bulge from their sockets. Why does his hair have to be blood red? He puts his head until the faucet and digs his fingers deep into his scalp. He can wash away the redness, can't he?

Gaara walks out of the bathroom, shirtless and with a mop of drenched hair. With the bathroom light on, he sees a better picture of the crime scene. He stays by the doorway, between light and darkness. His hair drips water on the floor. Lee would have scolded him for not drying his hair properly. Lee always went off on him about how important it is to dry hair completely, especially since his hair is so long.

Wait. Gaara stops in mid-thought. He reaches up and runs his fingers through his hair. He looks at the short strands of hair on his palm. What was Lee talking about? He shakes the thought off his head and ventures back into the bedroom. He towers over Lee. He strokes Lee's cheek and runs his fingers through the black hair. He leans down and presses a deep kiss on Lee's forehead. He tastes coagulated blood, but it does not fray him as much as he has expected it to. Gaara pulls the comforter up and over Lee's body. He cannot bear to look it for another second.

He sits at the edge of the bed, his hands clasped tight over his laps. Tonight was supposed to be a new chapter. How is he going to start anew if Lee left him behind? Gaara bites on his bottom lip until it turns pale as his skin. It is his attempt to not cry, but he knows he failed when he feels saline tears tickle his cheeks. The last time he cried was when his uncle passed away and that was almost twenty years ago. It has been so long that Gaara is not even sure if he is crying. He only knows that his arteries are contracting and it hurts to breathe.

Gaara's eyes land on a picture on Lee's nightstand. He reaches over and picks it up. His tears cease as he wipes the blood off the glass. It is a photo of Lee with his arms around a man with long, brown hair. They are both smiling. Gaara has not seen Lee smiled like that for a long while. More importantly, though, he does not recall seeing this picture before. He recognizes the man in the picture, but the name eludes him. Gaara looks down at Lee's shrouded face. Why does Lee have a picture with another man? He returns to the photograph. Judging from Lee's appearance, it must have been taken recently. He clutches the frame as he stands up and turns on the room light. Once the light comes on, he walks up to the wardrobe and lays his eyes on the row of photographs. There is a picture of Lee with a tomboy-looking girl; Gaara remembers her as his college friend. There is one of Lee and his mentor, who shockingly resembles Lee. One is Lee and that man against a backdrop of a snow mountain. A family portrait of the man stands on the far end. Gaara spins around and stops breathing.

Why is there not a picture of _them_ together in _their_ bedroom?

He can only reason that Lee was cheating on him and had been erasing evidences of their relationship. Gaara storms out of the bedroom and treads downstairs. He stops in the living room to find more pictures of Lee and that man. How could Lee do this to him? Gaara grabs the frame off the television stand. It is supposed to be their wedding picture, but instead, he is replaced by that man. In a fit of anger, he smashes it against the wall. The glass breaks and scatters into pieces, sparkling on the floor. He looks to the left and sees a vase of white roses and a card on the coffee table. He flips the card open and mumbles each word to himself.

_Dearest Lee,_

_Happy anniversary! I can't begin to tell you how much you mean to me. Thank you for three wonderful years. I know we'll have many more to come._

_Love,_

_Neji_

Neji: that is the bastard's name. Gaara crumbles the card in his palm and tosses it on the floor. How long has the affair been going on? He slumps on the sofa and presses his hands tight against his temples. His head feels ready to explode. Lee cheated on him--he thinks that may be worse than him being dead. His lips pull to a sadistic smile; it is almost like someone has punished Lee for his unfaithfulness. The smile drops from his face quickly and the rush of tears returns to his eyes. Despite that Lee has been unfaithful, Gaara wants him to still be alive. Whatever it is that Lee found unsatisfactory about him, he wants the chance to correct the mistakes and improves on the relationship.

Gaara shivers. He wraps around his shoulders and rubs his bare arms. The house feels like it just dropped ten degrees. He sniffles and wipes his nose with the back of his hand. Then he wipes his hand on his jeans. He smells blood on his flesh, fresh and unbearably strong. He stares at his ring finger, devoid of a wedding ring. His head throbs suddenly, like an anvil has landed on him. He keeps his eyes on the shattered photo frame. Lee and Neji's wedding photo. He is certain that it was Lee and his wedding photo before he discovered Lee's body. Something is not right--

"Gaara? What are you doing here?"

Gaara snaps his head up. His eyes dart across the living room, scanning for a sign of human life. He shoots up from the sofa and rushes to the bottom of the stairs. Leaning against the railing, he looks up but does not see anyone.

"Neji is not home… Hmm? Yes, how did you know it is our anniversary…?"

Gaara turns around. He is certain that the voice has come from the kitchen. He dashes in there but finds only shadows of trees moving on the tiled floor. He sucks in air through his gritted teeth. With hands pressed over his ears, he squeezes his eyes shut.

"His flight is delayed… Why not join me for dinner?"

"Would you like some wine? Hinata bought it for Neji's birthday."

"Thank you for spending the night with me… I am glad we are friends, Gaara."

"Good night."

"Gaara? Why--How did you get in?"

"What--What are you…"

"Wait--No!"

"Sto--Stop, Gaara!"

"STOP!"

Gaara screams. He drops on his knees and slams his forehead against the ground. He clutches at his heart and hyperventilates. Drools drip from his mouth. Air barely gets to his lungs. He clenches his teeth together and grunts from the back of his throat, sounding like a feral animal.

It is Lee's own fault that he is dead; he did not see how much Gaara loves him. He did not understand how strongly Gaara feels about him. If Lee had loved him, Gaara would not have to create a delusion to live in. Why did Lee choose that arrogant Neji?

Gaara grins to himself. Blood fill the vessels in his eyes. Lee should have been more careful; leaving that window open has proved to be a fatal mistake. Gaara snickers, his voice reaching an octave higher. Lee probably had no idea how much more pleasurable he had made the experience for Gaara by struggling and screaming. He licks his lips; he can taste Lee's flesh and blood, and it makes him quiver with satisfaction.

He gets off the floor when headlights shine past the window curtains. He lifts the curtain a little to see outside. A cab is on the curb and a man is stepping out from it. The passenger and the driver huddle around the trunk to take out a suitcase. Gaara backs away. He freezes for a few seconds, contemplating his next step. He walks into the kitchen and eyes the knife block. The serrated bread knife will work. He decides that there is importance in using the right knife for the right job. With the blade in hand, he stalks back to the front door and hides next to it. His back presses against the wall. The car door slams. A key jingles in the door knob.

Gaara is about to give Lee the perfect anniversary present.

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Boyue's Afterword: This fiction is inspired by "The Awakening" by Alice Cooper.

_I wake up in the basement__  
__I'm so hungry__  
__I'm dry__  
__I must be here sleepwalking__  
__Mustn't I?__  
__Getting up from my easy chair looking for my wife__  
__Following a trail of crimson__  
__Spots that lead into the night__  
__Suddenly I realize__  
__I see it all through real eyes__  
__These crimson spots are dripping from my hand__  
__And ooh it makes me feel like a man_

**Hopefully this has been an enjoyable read. If you are confused by it, then I have failed you. ):**

**If time permits, I may add an "extended ending" chapter to detail what really happened tonight.**

**Special thanks for everyone who has faved, reviewed, or added my stories to their alerts! **


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